Bat's ???

[blane]

We are just a week or two away from having our place completely in the dry "woohoo". I think we have some bats that have made their home in our ridge pole somewhere (as evidenced from little gifts they leave behind) and I am hoping someone can tell me how to get rid of them before we completely close everything up.

[Gomer]

you good at tossing a baseball? ;)
about every few years we have the same issue at the the farm house. Other than stopping them in their tracks with tennis rackets after they show up we've never had much luck. Hired exterminators 2x - no better. We have sealed 4-5 places they have found there way in from and think that's it....nope. A new spot they find somehow.
Good luck - they nasty buggers inside a place. Love them outdoors though.....

[loghousenut]

First of all don't kill them unless you really like mosquitoes. Don't treat them as mice with wings... They're better than that. Bats are the coolest animal on this planet. It's a shame they have to poop because they'd be great to have around if they didn't leave behind the smelly evidence.

Once you get the place completely closed in and tighter than a drum, you could just leave a big window open, wait for them to go out prowling, and then put the screen on the window to keep them out. Bats can get into some pretty small cracks but once you close off the route they normally take to roost you'll probably keep them out of your house.

If it was me I'd build or buy a bat house (or two) and install it somewhere nearby on the off chance that they would find it and stay close.

Jake and I used to love hitting the pool just after sunset in the middle of summer. As soon as the bats would come out we'd sit still til the water got smooth as glass and then watch the bats swoop down and take a drink while in flight. Sometimes they'd touch the water a foot from our face.

Another cool way to play with bats is to stand out in the open where you have a good bit of sky to use as a backdrop to watch the bats. When you get a bead on one of them that will be flying somewhere nearby, toss a small pebble up in his/her direction. The bat will "see" it and instantly fly in a path to overtake it. The bat will swerve off at the last instant and resume hunting. Sonar always allows the bat to identify the rock as a UFO instead of a RGB (Really Juicy Bug).

[blane]

Yea, I really don't wont them dead because of their benefits. I will see if I can get them out by leaving a window open one night then go out and close it after they go out on their hunts. One night we were working a little late and the work lamp brought in some bugs and that really made them active. We were dodging them as they would make their dives after the bugs. I am quite sure though, that my wife and girls will not be as impressed as me and my son were and it could impact wether or not they will sleep at night if we don't get rid of them:)

[edkemper]

They would prefer to live in one of the Bat Houses you build or buy (kits). It's truly multi-family bat housing.

As for mosquitos, when I was researching bats for that purpose on my property, I found out it was more helpful to get houses for another type of bird. Can't remember at the moment which bird, but they are one of the keys to getting mosquitos eaten. But I do own a couple of bat houses because Bats are so cool.

Then again, the mosquito magnet does seems to make the biggest difference.

[BenB]

They would prefer to live in one of the Bat Houses you build or buy (kits). It's truly multi-family bat housing.

As for mosquitos, when I was researching bats for that purpose on my property, I found out it was more helpful to get houses for another type of bird. Can't remember at the moment which bird, but they are one of the keys to getting mosquitos eaten. But I do own a couple of bat houses because Bats are so cool.

Then again, the mosquito magnet does seems to make the biggest difference.

Probably swallows or my fav is the chimney swift .... they gobble up skeeters like no tomorrow. They both consume zillions of the things.
Interesting Ed - I had 2 Magnets and we swear they drew in 10x the skeeters than w/o so unless we were close to them it was not a winning situation. Bet my neighbors lovedus tho....lol

[rocklock]

I have a bat box. Or as I call it my bat condo for six. There are plans all over the net and are really easy. If fact my lumber yard gave me 1/4 inch ply that was the inside walls. The dimensions are important as well as the placement tn the tree or pole.
Just remember bats in Washington have the highest rate of rabies so be careful. LHN be careful out there.

[ncgator]

Blane,

I would look at what Rocklock said. In NC, one of the biggest resevoirs for Rabies is the bat population and they usually have the "dumb" form of the disease where they dont show overt symptoms. Putting up a bat box away from the house would probably be the safest for your family and animals.

We use the gourd birdhouses around our horse barn to control insects. I'm not exactly sure what types of birds nest in them, but I am told they are Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, and Barn Swallows.

[edkemper]

The bats we have mostly along the west coast don't attack humans. Rabies transmission is due to us catching them and getting bit.

[Mosseyme]

spelunkers have been know to become infected with rabies from the bat dropping, or so I've heard.

[edkemper]

Mossey,

Rabies is transmitted through blood (bites?). I'll have to ask my sis about getting it from droppings.

[loghousenut]

You will never meet anyone who has ever met anyone who was infected with rabies. Just a guess on my part as to the rarity of the virus in the human population. I still like the bats but I get kinda creeped out by them so I don't play with 'em very often.

My Boy got tagged with the nickname "Batman" during his BSA years, stemming from a time on a work party when the scouts were all moving a bunch of roofing tin and somehow a bat ended up hanging on Jake's scout shirt directly over his rank patch. He/she (the bat) stayed there for the longest time and never seemed interested in transmitting diseases to anyone. I finally put on a glove and packed it off to a dark cubby hole.



Now for the part of my post that is completely contradictory. I work with a man who was bitten by a rat when he was 6 years old and survived a confirmed case of rabies without medical intervention. Stuff happens... That's why they call it stuff.

[John W]

Wow, that IS a rare thing, LHN. My understanding was that it was ALWAYS fatal without medical help. That's one tough guy.

[ncgator]

There were two possible cases of aerosol transmission of bat rabies in 1953 that occurred in people who worked in caves with large bat populations. There has been some experimental research done where aerosol transmission of rabies to other animals was documented in poorly ventilated situations (like caves). Because of this, spelunkers are advised to get vaccinated against rabies. All rabies cases since the 1953 cases have involved a bite from a bat which is rare unless you try and pickup/handle the critter. The transmission of the fungal respiratory/ocular infection Histoplasmosis from bat guano is typically of greater public health concern.

Blane, here in NC there were 16 cases of bat rabies out of 429 total cases of rabies in animals in 2011 (NC govt data). To put this in perspective, there were 25 cases in cats and the overwhelming majority of cases were seen in the feral populations of raccoons, foxes and skunks.

[marvlus]

Another cool way to play with bats is to stand out in the open where you have a good bit of sky to use as a backdrop to watch the bats. When you get a bead on one of them that will be flying somewhere nearby, toss a small pebble up in his/her direction. The bat will "see" it and instantly fly in a path to overtake it. The bat will swerve off at the last instant and resume hunting. Sonar always allows the bat to identify the rock as a UFO instead of a RGB (Really Juicy Bug).

That sounds cool! I'll have to give that a try. I periodically will go out to my pool at the time when the sun is down, but still enough light to see the sky. Floating on my back in the pool and watching the sky, watching for the bats to fly above me - a real cool sight, indeed.

[blane]

Bat problem solved! Last night we were working on laying out framing when we noticed the bat flying around. I saw him land on a rafter so I picked up a big 1x laying on the floor and took a swipe at him and missed. Well, as we were dodging him my son picked up a coat hanger and took a bead on him and let it go. The bat swooped at it and did not get out of the way in time and the plastic hanger flattened him. My son thinks he is a ninjha now:)

[marvlus]

Probably swallows or my fav is the chimney swift .... they gobble up skeeters like no tomorrow. They both consume zillions of the things.
Interesting Ed - I had 2 Magnets and we swear they drew in 10x the skeeters than w/o so unless we were close to them it was not a winning situation. Bet my neighbors lovedus tho....lol

Could have been Purple Martins too.

[Timberwolf]

Ninja beats Batman. :cool:

[LogHomeFeverDan]

Purple martins are prolific sqeeter eaters. Bats are good too. I'd go the bat box away from the house. Then again, let it get dark, then leave a light on inside til daylight. Bats usually won't return to a lighted area. If you can tell where they are nesting direct a light to that area, they usually will....."move".

[fishlkmich]

Purple martins are prolific sqeeter eaters. Bats are good too. I'd go the bat box away from the house. Then again, let it get dark, then leave a light on inside til daylight. Bats usually won't return to a lighted area. If you can tell where they are nesting direct a light to that area, they usually will....."move".

My father was voted the "Purple Martin landlord of the year" in 2001, by the Purple Martin Conservation Association. I have studied and worked with this species for many years.

There was a fellow who owned an aluminum products manufacturing business many years ago. When plastics replaced a lot of aluminum applications, the manufacturing business almost went broke. This guy needed a new product line to save his factory. He decided to build Purple Martin products and as an advertisement gimmick, he printed "A purple Martin can eat 2,000 mosquitoes per day!". That is a true statement. "I can eat 5,000 mosquitoes per day." is also a true statement. I don't eat mosquitoes, but I could. The guy was a genius! He still prints this on his martin products and probably 99% of the U.S. population believes that Purple Martins eat mosquitoes. Extensive studies have proven that they don't, but the fable lives on. You should see the size of the dragonflies that martins bring in to feed their kids!

I don't try to convince people that martins don't eat mosquitoes, anymore. But, birds eat during the day. Mosquitoes are generally out in the dusk/dark. Martins feed exclusively on flying insects, high in the air. Mosquitoes are usually close to the ground. It goes on, but you get the point.

Another Purple Martin "host" (the eastern species of martin relies upon man to provide nest boxes and is now totally dependent on us for its continued existence) wrote to me, proudly, about his cat killing a bat. When I reminded him that bats were native, cats were introduced to North America, are the second highest reason for the extinction of small animals in North America and kill simply for the sake of killing, he asked me to remove his name from my list of contacts. No problem.

[JJ Jr]

. When I reminded him that bats were native, cats were introduced to North America, are the second highest reason for the extinction of small animals in North America and kill simply for the sake of killing, he asked me to remove his name from my list of contacts. No problem.

I have cats and dogs and guess I've heard pretty much it all.
I like to remind people that dogs also were introduced here and dogs, God love 'em, also are wonderful at devouring deer scat, cow scat, horse scat as well as the uncanny ability to consume more maggots per pound of their body weight than maybe any other critter on earth. Not to mention they been known, quite often themselves, to kill for the pleasure of the kill. Thankfully not all do as they seem to be in every crevice and corner and house in the good ol' USA
Guess cats get a one up over a dog in this case as they don't often eat dead and decaying things. ;)

[fishlkmich]

I thought that dogs were ancestors of gray wolves and were domesticated 10,000 - 20,000 years ago. Where were dogs introduced from? Remind me.

I would also like an example of a dog killing for the sake of killing. They usually eat what they kill, or are trained to kill. If trained to kill, that would be on command, not for pleasure. Killing for food is a genetic pack animal trait, evolved from their wolf origins.

[loghousenut]

Humans are an introduced species (everywhere but Africa) and they kill for the sake of killing. I'm guessing we (we "Humans") are related to cats somehow. Some of us have been known to kill bats and rats and even other Humans just because we can.

Here, I go all philosophical as I ponder whether it is better for a Human to kill a rat and let it rot, or kill another Human and do the cannibal thing. Just the wanderings of an aging Human mind. Hahah

So how do I get more bats to hang around outside and less of them inside?

[fishlkmich]

I thought that humans introduced themselves to North America (migration), over the now gone land bridge.

Humans are the #1 reason for species extinction. Cats came in second. It is better to kill a rat. Don't question it. :)

Build bat houses.

[Pugsleeplikelog]

My Pug Sausage killed 2 birds in his life, brought one in the house as a gift, the other he let his offspring eat. I suspect that these birds weren't physically destined to get old, as they were both young. Maybe God provided to teach Sausage how to survive off-grid. Then there's Snickers, who at the age of 12 weeks caught and promptly consumed a mouse. Then there's the mouse we had in the house, which I had to point out to the Pugs. I think they considered that one a roommate.

[LogHomeFeverDan]

My father was voted the "Purple Martin landlord of the year" in 2001, by the Purple Martin Conservation Association. I have studied and worked with this species for many years.

There was a fellow who owned an aluminum products manufacturing business many years ago. When plastics replaced a lot of aluminum applications, the manufacturing business almost went broke. This guy needed a new product line to save his factory. He decided to build Purple Martin products and as an advertisement gimmick, he printed "A purple Martin can eat 2,000 mosquitoes per day!". That is a true statement. "I can eat 5,000 mosquitoes per day." is also a true statement. I don't eat mosquitoes, but I could. The guy was a genius! He still prints this on his martin products and probably 99% of the U.S. population believes that Purple Martins eat mosquitoes. Extensive studies have proven that they don't, but the fable lives on. You should see the size of the dragonflies that martins bring in to feed their kids!

I don't try to convince people that martins don't eat mosquitoes, anymore. But, birds eat during the day. Mosquitoes are generally out in the dusk/dark. Martins feed exclusively on flying insects, high in the air. Mosquitoes are usually close to the ground. It goes on, but you get the point.

Another Purple Martin "host" (the eastern species of martin relies upon man to provide nest boxes and is now totally dependent on us for its continued existence) wrote to me, proudly, about his cat killing a bat. When I reminded him that bats were native, cats were introduced to North America, are the second highest reason for the extinction of small animals in North America and kill simply for the sake of killing, he asked me to remove his name from my list of contacts. No problem.

I sit, corrected. I guess all those lake areas we've frequented that have mosquito challenges and then you move near the occupied purple martin houses and no more mosquito challenges, are anecdotal.